Epic: Still Worth It?
by SupeyNinjaZora19
Summary: Given another chance to fix his wrongs, Ronin has only one chance to make it all better. His beloved is returned, but at what cost? Is it still worth it? Losing something that you desperately work so hard to regain, only for it to not be the same? A true test of bonds between friends, family, and almost lovers. RoninxTara and mentions of MkxNod. HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ...really? Haven't we been over this, like, two times already?! I think it's obvious that I don't own Epic...**

**Summary: **Given another chance to fix his wrongs, Ronin has only one chance to make it all better. His beloved is returned, but at what cost? Is it still worth it? Losing something that you desperately work so hard to regain, only for it to not be the same? RoninxTara and mentions of MkxNod.

**Warning:** Okay, nothing to bad, there will be blood later on, fighting, sadness, a bit of angst, same with fluffiness, but...yeah...I guess you've been warned?

* * *

Epic: Still Worth It?

Chapter One

It Had To Happen

It had been a week since the attack on Moonhaven, and so far, the reconstruction was doing pretty good.

Homes were being rebuilt, families were once again whole, fathers and mothers where home, children could play outside in the meadows, slowly and slowly, things were getting put back together. The wounds were taking their time to heal, but all that would be left were scars.

However, Nod knew that some wounds took longer to heal, while others never did.

He knew this just by looking into Ronin's sapphire eyes. Underneath that tough, moody, and silent wall was a softie on the inside.

Sighing, Nod mounted his bird and took off, knowing exactly where Ronin would be.

He'd still be mourning in silence, looking at the setting sun's rays brightening the sky pink, purple, orange with a small tinged of blue.

**(A/N: Has anyone else ever notice how the sky always turned into different colors at sunset?)**

Nod himself was still in mourning, slightly to Queen Tara, he knew her a little, but he was still trying to get over Mary Katherine.

Mk (as she wanted everyone to call her) wasn't dead, she just went back to being a Stomper. He pained him whenever they video chatted or called one another, it wasn't the same.

Now, she would squash him if they tried to hug. She'd even squash the bird if she wanted another ride, and he knew that she wouldn't be able to ride another deer unless she wanted to get trampled by it.

Sighing as he hopped off of his bird, Nod walked slowly to the recovering general lying on the grass on the side of the hill, staring into the sky, as if he was looking for answers or a sign of some sort.

"Hey Nod."

"'Sup Ronin?" That was Ronin; he didn't even need to turn around to see if it was someone that he had known. The man had mentioned once that it had something to do with footsteps or the weight of a step. Nod didn't know, it was part of one of his long training lectures that he should become better at.

"Nothing really. The sky if you mean it literally, but figuratively, nothing." Sitting besides the man, Nod laid down on his back besides his father figure.

"No, I mean…what's going on, 'in here.'" Nod tapped his temple, looking at the man in his eyes before Ronin turned away to look at the sky.

"Like I said, nothing really. It's all blank." A shrug and the subject changed, "Man, this day is just dragging on by huh?"

"Yeah it is, but don't change the subject Ronin, I know your still upset. Just," Nod tore some grass out of the ground and played with it in his fingers. This was getting awkward…

"Wait a second," Nod shot Ronin a sharp glare; "You're not even supposed to be out of the hospital yet! The doctors didn't give you an okay, right?"

Ronin smiled smugly and shrugged, "Hey, if you were me, you wouldn't want to be cooped up in there all day long with nothing to do!"

Nod couldn't help but agree, yes people, believe it or not, Nod would've done the same thing. He hated being stuck in one place for too long, which was also another reason why he hated being in class, learning about an enemies strengths and weaknesses.

"I know, but come on man, how many broken ribs do you have?"

"Three."

"Okay, that doesn't help you, plus that concussion, the cuts and wounds, and the burns from the Rot that sunk through." Nod heard Ronin growl slightly. It was just after the new Queen was chosen, like twenty minutes after, that Ronin had collapsed to the floor, screaming and yelling in agony about something, clutching his chest and stomach tightly.

Nod remembered rushing towards the fallen general, asking him in panic what was wrong, only for the screams to get louder and ear-splitting. It was the Rot; it seemed that their armor wasn't that strong if the Rot was to stay on for a long period of time.

Ronin learned that the hard way.

"Yeah…forgot to say thanks about that…" Nod looked at the general shocked. What was happening? Ronin, the brave, fearless, strong general, saying Thank you? To HIM? NOD?

"Uhh…n-no problem…" Man, why did Ronin have to make things so awkward?! "Back at you, for saving both Mk and I…" A sharp nod was all he got, so the teen took it was a 'You're Welcome.'

Nod would admit, if it wasn't for his father figure standing up for him and Mk back there, if he didn't buy any time, then neither he nor the Stomper would even be alive; actually, Moonhaven would be in ruins.

"You miss her, don't you Nod?" Ronin questioned, still looking into the sky with his sapphire orbs while he missed Nod's look of wonder and shock.

"W-what? Who are you talking about?!" When Ronin turned to look at the teen, Nod's earthly orbs met a blue sea with the flames of light reflecting off of it.

"Mk. Mary Katherine. You miss her?" Nod looked away before looking at the sky.

"Well, yeah, though we talk every now and then, it's still not the same." By the confused look he was given, he knew he had to speak fast. "Oh, her dad set up some cell phones with those giant screens, and we can like, talk into it but it'll show out faces and all…do you understand this?"

By the slow shaking of his head, Nod knew that he had to go further in details. Like, so further, he even had to explain what it was made up of, which took even longer.

"But anyways, forgetting all that I told you, yeah, I do miss her, I…I just can't forget about her at all…not after all of that…" Though it felt weird telling his thoughts to Ronin (of all people…), it at the same time felt comforting to the teenager. Just something about that gave him the sensation of a father, even so slightly, to have someone listening to him rather than yelling at him for slacking off during training.

"Do you like her?" Nod looked at Ronin, frowning at him slightly.

"Do you like Tara?" Wrong. Thing. To. Say. Nod mentally slapped and cursed at himself at the same time when he heard Ronin's breath hitch and he stood up rather quickly for a guy who was injured. "Ronin, I'm sor-"

"Don't…" Though Nod couldn't see the facial expression on the man's face, he knew that he was fighting back tears due to the way his voice was strained to keep any kind of emotion out of it, "Don't make the same mistake that I did…"

Putting his two fingers to his mouth, Nod realized that he was calling his bird and rushed to stop him, only to get a face full of feathers as the humming bird took off.

"Ronin!" Nod coughed, looking at his father figure as he flew away, a heavy feeling left in the pit of his stomach. "Nice one Nod…As if he wasn't in enough self blame…" He grumbled, staring at the sky and sighed, "Talk about trying to help out…you only made things much worse…"

Oh Nod, if only you had known then…

* * *

Ronin glared at the slowly blurring area around him.

Though he could tell that Nod didn't mean it like that, it still hurt him on the inside.

_'Tara...' _He shouted on the inside, refusing to scream out loud, _'My Queen…your Queen who you were too weak to protect…'_

If he had just been stronger, if he had only seen that arrow…his beloved Queen would still be here. It should've been him. He should've gotten the arrow instead of her to the stomach. At least it wouldn't have punctured him! She had no protection!

Opening his eyes that he didn't realize that he had closed, he saw that he was at his destination and jumped off his bird after it rested itself on a branch.

Landing on his feet, Ronin dashed off, looking around before entering the door. Inside the tree, it was dark.

_'Asleep I bet…Practically moon high already…' _Ronin cursed to himself, took his helmet off and held it before he walked silently onto the elevator that took him several floors down.

Nothing but scrolls in nicely circles, more and more rolls everywhere. It was like every second was recorded, every event, maybe even this was too, him being here, but at the same time; he couldn't risk anyone knowing that he was here.

Landing on the seemingly right floor, Ronin walked off the circular elevator and got to work trying to find the right scroll. It was frustrating, they were all the same! Besides for some being slightly older by the yellowing of the paper, he couldn't tell anything from another.

Running a hand though his hair, Ronin let out a small, heavy sigh as he turned around to reach for another scroll.

"You know, you could just ask me for help." Unsheathing his sword, Ronin held it pinpoint at the thing behind him, but put it back once he noticed who it was.

"Sorry about that, Nim Galuu…" Ronin apologized, rubbing the back of his neck and smiled weakly at the glowworm in front of him.

"No, it's okay," The worm smiled and fixed his robe, "It probably wasn't a good idea to try to sneak behind the General of the Leafmen. Now, what are you here for?"

Ronin sighed, looking down at the floor guiltily before looking the glowworm back in the eyes.

"Nim Galuu, please…there has to be a way…there had to be a way…"

"I'm sorry Ronin," the worm whispered, unable to look the man in the eyes, "There was no other way it could have been avoided. The scrolls don't lie…it had to happen…"

"Please!" The general burst out, shaking with pent out frustrations and loss, "There HAD to be that way! Can't we reverse the clock o-"

"Ronin, we've been over this numerous times," Nim Galuu sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. He hated having to tell the mourning man this, but he had to. Here was just no other way. It had to happen, it did happen; there was no changing the past.

"Bu-"

"There's no changing the past, General. No one can go back in time or reverse the clock. No one can. Not even a Queen herself." The man looked heartbroken, it killed the worm to tell him this, but he HAD to. He just wouldn't get it, not the first three times it happened; the general was horrible with loss.

"What if we-"

"Ronin," The glowworm looked the man in his sapphire Jews with his rocky brown. "She's gone. She won't come back." He said it.

Ronin nodded his head, keeping his gaze averted to the floor, a shadow casting over his face, making his facial features look even more deadly than they already were.

"Al'right. Thank you." Turning away, the man put his helmet back on, as if to shield himself from the world, and walked to the circular elevator where the glowworm followed him.

"If you want, you can spend the night in the spare room. It's pouring outside." Nim Galuu offered. It was true, it was raining heavily outside, Ronin would be washed away, his bird wouldn't be able to fly, plus the glowworm was worried the man would try to do something to self inflict tonight.

"Thank you for your…kind offer, but I'd rather not. Thank you anyways." The general's voice was tight with strain of keeping himself in check, but anyone could tell that he was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry…" The glowworm looked down, ashamed for what he said, though it had been the truth, he hadn't been nice about saying it kindly.

"Don't be. It had to happen…" Wrapping his jacket around himself, the general patted his hummingbird and walked out, leaving the bird there.

It wouldn't be able to fly, he didn't want it to get harmed by the powerful force of the droplets of water, and the glowworm knew that but didn't say anything against it.

Nim Galuu watched the man leave, a heavy feeling of dread washing over him as he patted the bird too.

"I know, I know," He cooed, trying to calm the small bird, but he couldn't help but admit, "I fear for the worst to."

* * *

Ronin walked out of the tree, his gaze burning into the floor, as he kept his face a solid look.

_'No matter what Ronin, you can't let your feelings out. That's for the weak…'_

The man sighed; using his gloved hand to put over his eyes to try and block the rain from getting into his eyes and looked off to the distance.

Nim Galuu's place was pretty far away from Moonhaven, it'll take him a while to get back, but he did need a walk to clear his mind.

It was weird, he'd admit, stormy and gloomy on the outside, stormy and gloomy on the inside too.

At times, the weather represented his moods, or most of the time they reflected off of his beloved Queen's attitude, which was to why it was usually bright and sunny.

Yawning, he rubbed his neck and stretched, the thought of sleep whipped away from his mind quickly as rain droplets hit him in his eyes, waking him up.

_'The moon's already half past moon high, barely have any sleep…' _

Ronin grumbled to himself before unsheathing his sword and swirled around only to be met with the darkness of night around him, taunting him.

Something was there, someone was there.

Pulling out his sword, he narrowed his eyes, watching his surroundings suspiciously as he walked towards a tree to use a protection.

Any sign of movement, besides for the heavy rain drops marking the land, they'd be dead meat.

Ronin looked around, looking for any sign of an enemy while noticing the rain drop patterns, how long it took them to fall, where they'd fall after a certain number, and the weight they were when they landed.

Being a Leafman, you learned how to remember a lot of things in a short period of time.

Looking at the moon for any shine of light, he noticed something falling. It didn't look like a leaf or a giant raindrop; no…it looked like a body…

Sheathing his sword, he took a step forwards, squinted through the rain at the figure. Something about it looked awfully familiar.

Then, his eyes widened in realization as he felt himself turn cold, not just because of the rain, no, it was because of the truth he just discovered.

"My Queen…"

* * *

Chapter one! :D Don't worry, chapter two will be coming up soon!

Man, I'm horrible with cliff hangers, but I don't care! X3

What did you all think? I know, not the best way to kick off a story, but the next chapters will be more longer or specific I guess...

Shout Outs to my fan fiction family (haha you know who you are!), and to everyone who favorite, followed, and reviewed to my other stories! Thank you!

~SupeyZ (Please review and tell me what you thought! Criticism will be taken in and worked on to work towards the other chapters!)


	2. Chapter 2 Is It Really?

**Disclaimer: Nope. Said it in the first chapter, I'm pretty sure it goes the same for the second...I don't own Epic!**

**Warning:** ...prepare...for an ugly chapter...I honestly don't like...other than a sucky chapter, there's nothing too bad...

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Chapter Two

Is It Really?

Ronin dashed through the woods, running as fast as he could with the person in his arms. The rain was pouring down harder and harder with each footstep he took, his wounds burning as they threatened to reopen, and the weight of the two was ultimately making him more slower than he usually was, but he wouldn't let her go, not after he got an explanation to all of this.

The general was very confused to why he reacted as he did, but he acted as if this was HIS Queen. He couldn't get that much of a good look at her face, the moon's dim light was not helping him at all, but he could just feel that it was his Queen.

Looking down at her, he felt her shivering in his arms from the cold winds and rain. He'd admit, the general himself was getting pretty cool, but the running was also getting him heated up, so it really didn't matter.

Suddenly, the man skidded to a halt, splashing some water into the air as his sapphire eyes narrowed, glaring into the shadows. Something didn't feel right…

Holding the unconscious woman in his arms, he slung her over his shoulder and drew out his sword. Sure, Ronin had his bow and arrow with him, but due to the downfall of heavy rain droplets, it would be useless to even try shooting a moving target in the rain.

It was like flying a hang glider underwater…if that made any sense to Ronin at the moment.

He heard the low, rumbling sounds of growls, and something else reached his ears. It sounded as if something had gotten thro-

_FWIP._

With just one hand, the general caught an arrow, thicker than what he used, maybe since it would fly better in the rain, and he glared into the shadows.

Boggans, it had to be. Though Mandrake was taken down, the Boggans had no leader so they mainly roamed around and did their own thing, which was troublesome for Moonhaven, since some still followed their old ways.

Frowning, Ronin rushed forward, slicing a few Boggans with his sword and doing a back flip to dodge a slash to his back.

_'Really? Why now of all nights would they choose to recon?! It's pouring out!'_ Ah, of course, he got it. No one would expect it, well played, well played, it seemed that Boggans weren't as dumb after all.

Stabbing another in the chest and swirling around to slash the neck of the monsters, Ronin had to duck to dodge a blow to the head and punched it in the face.

"I don't have time for this!" It was true, the woman's shivering was getting terribly worse, and it felt to him as if he as holding just a piece of ice in his arm. The general himself was starting to grow tired of all of this continuous fighting. His limbs felt like boulders, and his vision was swirling in and out of darkness daring to consume him.

A claw to the face made him have to turn his head to avoid getting his eyes ripped out, but got slashed on the cheek. His eyes roamed around the battle scene, he had maybe taken down about twenty, but there was over that left.

_'There's too many…'_ Ronin cursed, holding his fallen Queen tighter in his grasp as he tried to fight, but was running out of steam. A kick to his stomach made him crash into a tree, and with a small shout, he let go of his Queen before landing. The sound of bone cracking and breaking reached his ears, but it wasn't the Queen's bones, it was his.

_'More broken bones, great…' _Ronin winced after feeling his ribs moving with each ragged breath he took and got to his knees. Opening his eyes, he saw a Boggan bent over the unconscious woman and got up.

"Don't TOUCH HER!" The general roared, charging at the Boggan and slashed it across its chest with his sword, the man's sapphire eyes ablaze with a wild fire.

Nobody, and he meant NOBODY, would dare lay a hand on his Queen, enemy or not, no one touched her on his watch. As creeperish as it sounded, he had to protect her especially now seeing that she was unconscious.

Ronin gently but quickly picked up the fallen women and set her besides a tree, close enough to keep an eye on her but far enough so she couldn't get hurt.

Twirling his sword, the man lunged forward, a look of vengeance and retribution gleamed violently in his sapphire orbs of his. They were going to pay.

* * *

"Whoa whoa WHOA! What do you mean he hasn't come back yet?!" The doctor shook his head, sighing as he put a hand calmly on the boy's shaking shoulders.

"Nod, I've told you seven times already, Ronin has not come back from wherever he has gone, though I strictly told him not to go outside in the first place…" The doctor grumbled the last part, though it sounded like he was talking to himself more than to Nod.

"We have to go look for him or something! We don't know what might've happened to him or what!" Nod honestly was freaking out. He was the last on to see or hear anything from the general, but nothing that was spoken would help them get a clue as to where the man was at.

It killed the teen, if only he hadn't spoke those words, those painful, soul crushing words to the man, none of this would've happened! (Though it was a complete accident, he was still sued to the before times where they would make fun of each other…) Nod felt horrible! He would still be inside of Moonhaven right now! He would be safe…

"What if he got into trouble or something!? Wh-"

"-Nod-"

"-at if he fell off of his bird o-"

"r maybe that was it! He's still injured a-"

"-Nod!"

"WHAT!?" Nod shouted, looking ticked off at the doctor and felt his eyebrow twitch, showing how irritated he truly was. What one Earth could this guy have to say?

"Ronin's grown man, he can take care of himself, he knows how to fly a bird, he has one of the fastest ones ever, and even if he's injured, he can fend for himself…" Judging from the look the doctor received, the surgeon sighed and stood up with his hands in a 'I surrender' pose.

"No offense Nod, but you're starting to sound like Ronin yourself…" Nod froze, looking at the man with wide eyes and put a hand over his face. D-did he really just get compared to Ronin? Man, hanging around the guy must be rubbing off on him…

"I'll give you a minute to recollect yourself." The doctor chuckled, leaving the room and went into another.

Nod sat there, staring at the ceiling, trying to process what had just happened. The teen just guessed, slowly and slowly, he was starting to look up to the general as a father figure. Since his wasn't around, Ronin was the closes thing to a dad that he had at the moment, and it terrified him to even think about losing him.

Resting his arm on the couch he was lying on in the waiting room of the hospital, he looked out the window before getting up to get something to eat.

Suddenly, a loud THUMP to the door got his attention and he turned his head towards it, expecting someone to walk through the door, only for it to never open.

The boy's brown eyes widened as he stood where he was, still staring at the door.

_'Don't worry Nod…it's nothing bad…nothing bad at all…'_

Walking to the green door casually, the teen opened it and looked down at the floor to see a man lying there in a growing pool of cooling blood.

"RONIN!"

Nod bent down to his father figure's side and tried waking up the unconscious man, but only received pained groans and whines in reply to the useless attempts.

"DOC!" The boy called out, desperately trying to calm down and looked at the man once again. Why did he feel as cold as ice? His face was pale and slightly flushed, and he had multiple wounds over his body. Nod cursed, the man didn't have his armor yet, the Rot ruined his last set, and it takes weeks to make one as strong as it should be.

Then, something else caught his attention. Wrapped in Ronin's arms, was a woman. The chocolate-hazelnut skin was slightly paler than he remembered it being, and the golden-brown hair he saw usually curly was dark and damp.

As the two were rushed to get check on, Nod felt someone put a blanket around his shoulders and someone pat him comfortingly.

"Don't worry, they'll be okay…" The doctor smiled and rushed into the room once his name was called.

Nod sat down on the couch, holding his head in his hands tightly, eyes still wide as saucers and his body shook with shock.

"Ronin…" Nod cursed, looking at the closed doors as the operation sign went aglow, "…what...what the heck were you doing tonight…?"

* * *

The familiar ring of the computer sent Mk dashing to the living room in a rush, which made her father wonder where the fire was at, but then realized with a smile that it was just another video call from Nod.

It was obvious to everyone that the two had something going on, but they were too stubborn to admit it, maybe because they were both scared of what the other though, or maybe it was the physical circumstances. They would never know.

The teenager fixed her hair quickly before answering the video call and smiled widely at the screen.

"Hey Nod-what's wrong?" The happiness on Mk's face was torn off quickly as she saw the frightened expression on Nod's pale face. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

"Mk…I-" Nod choked slightly an had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down before speaking, "…Mk, you should _really_ come down here…"

Before that sentence was even finished, Mk was already grabbing her jacket from its hook and was slipping it on.

"I'm on my way," She spoke, already heading to the door, "Get the Queen, I'll meet up with you guys by the river."

* * *

To Mk, she would've been more than happy to see Moonhaven Leafman sized, if only they weren't under these circumstances.

"Why won't you guys tell me what's going on? Come on tell me! What is going on?" Looking down, Mk chuckled gently at the new Queen. She was still a kid, if she was human, she'd maybe be in the ten to thirteen year olds category.

"Your Majesty, we don't know what's going on-"

"Yes you do! Now tell me!" Dahlia pressed on, crossing her tiny arms across her chest and pouted.

If Mk had known what was truly going on, she maybe would've given into that look, but Nod wasn't.

"Your Majesty, we do not know what is going on, and can you please leave Mk and I alone for a moment please?" Nod spoke, his voice sounding her stressed and angered underneath fake kindness and strained calmness.

Up close, she could see Nod shaking visibly in a mixture of emotions and was automatically worried for the teen.

"Aww! You two wanna be alone!" The Queen giggled, looking at their blushing faces, "Are you two dating or something?"

"No!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive your highness!"

"Really? You two would make a cute couple!"

Mk put her hands over her face to her embarrassment and to hide her tomato red face.

Nod, on the other hand, didn't bother in hiding his face; his ears would've given it away.

"Your Majesty, we are not going out!" Nod nearly shouted at the Queen, who was smirking knowingly at the two teenagers.

"You two should totally go out! I mean, you two did kiss that one day!" Nod groaned as the young Queen giggled some more, everyone had seen them kiss, and when he meant everyone, he meant _everyone_ in Moonhaven saw them. And it seemed everybody just wanted to keep on reminding the two of them about it.

"Don't you have a meeting to go to or something!?" Queen Dahlia looked at Nod confusedly until she gasped, realizing that she had somewhere to be.

"Oh yeah…thanks for reminding me! Now then, I'll leave you two alone…behind this big tree…where no one can see you two…bye!" The Queen teased before dashing off, running on the water quickly like Tara would. For a young kid, she learned how to master running on water at a pretty young age.

Nod slapped his forehead before looking at Mk, who was looking at him worriedly.

"Wait, the Queen doesn't even know what's going on?" The brown haired boy nodded his head at the teen and walked towards the hospital as he spoke,

"Yeah…some…messed up stuff is going on…"

"Like what?"

"Well, Ronin won't wake up…we don't happened to him, we think he was ambushed by some Boggans…he didn't have any protection either…"

"Nod, I'm sorry…" Mk sympathized, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder before smiling brightly at him, "He'll pull through; he always does."

Nod sighed, "I know, he does every time, but that's not even the worse part…he came bacl…with someone…" Nod muttered and looked at Mk's confused face.

"Who? Nod, what's going on?" Mk was seriously confused. Nod wasn't saying anything solid; she had no clue what the teen was saying!

"…you're better off just seeing…you wouldn't believe me anyways…" Mk couldn't help but let out a small laugh. The girl at first didn't believe that this entire little world existed before, Moonhaven, small little people running across the forest, jumping off of trees, riding on birds; she didn't believe any of it…until she saw it…

Nodding her head, Mk followed the Leafman though the forest quickly after sensing that he didn't want to go into details and stayed quiet the entire run through the rain to Moonhaven.

When they arrived at the hospital, Mk found it surprisingly empty and questioned Nod about it.

"Like I said, it's messed up and serious, they don't want anyone to come in or out, plus it's pouring outside, no one would want to come outside in this kind of weather." The orange haired girl nodded her head as she followed Nod through the leaf green doors and into a large, white hall way with multiple doors, each looking identical besides for the numbers listed on them, speaking out to everyone which patient was given which room.

After they turned four times into different hallways, deep in the back of the hospital, Nod stopped before a bright green door and turned to Mk.

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Who's in there?" Mk questioned reaching to the handle to open the door but was stopped by Nod.

"Listen, Mk, you might not believe this, but calm down once you walk in there, okay? Don't pass out either…"

"Why, did you?" Mk teased, but stopped once Nod gestured for he to walk into the room, "Who's in there?"

"Find out…" The teen watched as the girl opened the door and stopped cold in her tracks once she saw who was in the room

"Is it really…"

"Yeah…"

"Really?"

"Yeah, didn't believe it either…"

"It's really her…"

* * *

...Wow...so many things went so wrong with this chapter! I am so terribly sorry for the long wait! ...all for a horrible chapter *sigh* I'm sorry, my computer died, and I had to get it fix, but the cost of it: most of the outlines of my stories were gone! *screams in anger* So, I had to redo this chapter several times...so I'm sorry for the failure of a chapter...

But anyways, thank you Cato-Diamond, Guest, .39, Codywolf, fanfictionlover02, and tvdse for the review, and thank you so much to everyone who followed and favorite! You're all awesome! :D :D

FOR ALTERNATE ENDING: I will be working on another chapter for that (since all of you awesome people want another) I will try to make another one. I am still debating on whether or not to leave it One-Shot or add more to it, so Please tell me so if I should continue on! (I had an outline for another chapter...but it's deleted too)

SHOUT-OUT to my fan-fiction family (you know who you are) and to everyone else! Thank you so much, and i will try to do a better chapter! Thanks! :D

~SupeyZ (P.S. Did anyone else just figure out that Ronin and Tara are over 100 years old, or am I just slow? I just figured that out!)


	3. Chapter 3 Just A Dream

**Disclaimer: *shakes head* Nope. Still don't own Epic.**

**Warning:** Nothing bad honestly, besides for some OOC in this chapter, it's okay...

* * *

Chapter Three

Just a 'Dream'

Ronin groaned in pain, cracking his eyes open ever so slightly only to be blinded by a bright, intense light. He couldn't remember what had happened; all he knew was that he woke up to just pain, pain, and even more pain every time he woke up.

_'Man, that was a weird dream…' _The General thought, throwing his arm over his eyes to try and at least block out some of the light.

"Yo, Ronin! You're awake!" The general looked up to see both Mk and Nod in the doorway, rushing forward towards him in both worry but excitement.

"Hey, I guess I am," The man smiled before frowning at Nod after he was punched lightly in the arm, "What's that for?"

"That's for running off like that! What is wrong with you?! You think you can just run off without any warning or anything!? Man Ronin, what if you were killed or something?!" The blank look Nod received just added more to his worrying. "H-how many fingers am I holding up?"

Another blank look was given to the teen and Ronin sighed, "None Nod…you're not holding up any fingers…"

"Good, you're not blind." Nod sighed out in relief and Mk laughed lightly at Nod.

"Mk, when did you get here?" Ronin questioned and sat up a little.

"Just a little while ago. Queen Dahlia made me Leafman sized again, since I heard what was going on. By the way, how are you feeling?" Mk asked, sitting down on the corner of his bed while Nod leaned against the wall.

"Pretty sore I guess after that beat down from Mandrake and the Boggans, but it's expected after all…are you two feeling okay?" The general questioned the two teens after seeing their pale, scared faces.

"Ronin…what are you talking about?"

"…when you and I took down Mandrake, remember? It was just two days ago, right?" Ronin looked even more confused at the freaked out expression on Mk's face and the worried scowl that spread over Nod's features.

"…That's it; I'll call the doctor for you two…" The hand that stopped Ronin made the man look up at the brown haired teen in confusion as Mk walked out of the room for a moment before coming back with the doctor.

"Hello Ronin," The doctor greeted, sitting down in his stool and rolled towards Ronin with a friendly smile, "How are you feeling?"

"Ah, I can slightly feel the pain, but it's dull now. No big deal," Ronin sighed as he rolled his shoulders, "I have a headache, but besides that, nothing that won't kill me."

The doctor nodded his head, taking down a few notes before looking at the general in the eyes again.

"Okay Ronin, I'm gunna ask you a few questions, is that al'right?" When the man nodded his head, the doctor asked, "Okay, so what's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember passing out from the pain of the Rot when it was rotting my armor," The man shrugged after thinking for a few seconds and sighed, "After that, nothing."

The doctor frowned, taking down a few notes and looked at the man again in the eyes.

"Anything else?"

"Nope…"

"Any weird dreams of the sort?"

Ronin rubbed his chin and looked at the blanket clutched tightly in his hands, "Actually, I did a have a dream, it was…different than the others…"

The doctor shook his head, signaling for him to continue on, and so he did.

"A simple Boggan dream really, but I was coming back from Nim's place, I had left my bird there…then…I was walking through the rain, then…" The general looked down at the bed once again, frowning deeply as he tried to remember the dream he had, but it came out in bits and pieces.

That was the thing about dreams, you have an awesome adventure thing, you wake up, and thirty minutes later, you've forgotten your trip to sleepy town.

"Don't hurt yourself Ronin." Nod smirked, trying to make it seem more like a tease but there was a hint of worry in his voice as he leaned against the wall next to Mk who was sitting in a chair made of leaves, as mainly everything in the room was made from that material.

Ronin returned the smirk but then looked at the doctor and frowned as he noticed that he was doing the same.

"Continue on General."

"Okay…" Biting his lip, he continued, "Then it looked like this figure was falling through the air, and it turned out to be Tara, then we got attacked by some Boggans and rushed here." The general laughed hysterically, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes and shook his head, "Man, the dreams that we dream…"

After his little laughing fit, Ronin looked up to see the three teens exchanging looks, which the man surprisingly couldn't read, and then they all nodded their heads.

"Al'right Ronin, thank you for answering the questions," The young doctor thanked, bowing his head respectfully and looked at his board, lifting up his pen, "It seems you have answered all of the needed questions," He muttered crossing off the ones that weren't answered and sighed.

"If you need anything or feel any pain at all, let me or any of the nurses know, al'right?" Ronin nodded his head and the doctor smiled, "Okay, thanks. Now then, I have to go for the 11:25 appointment, so if you'll excuse me…" The doctor nodded his head and slipped through the door after he gave Nod and Mk a look.

Ronin looked at Nod and Mk, expecting one of them to say something about what had just happened, but was surprised when the two didn't say a word.

"Hey, um…" Mk started, rubbing her arm nervously and sighed, "I kinda have to get going…I promised my dad I'd be back for lunch…" Ronin smiled, nodding his head in an 'I understand, it's okay, you can go' way and she hurried through the door, leaving just Nod and the general alone.

Nod looked at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck and gestured to the door, signaling that he should go too, and like Mk, he nodded his head the same way and walked through the door.

After the teen closed the door, he took off running down the hallway and came upon the bright green doors he had seen just a few hours ago.

Suddenly, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and turning around, he saw the blond haired doctor and sighed.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk about?"

The teen just shrugged, running his hand through his hair, a habit that Nod seemed to see that the teen had, "Actually, I was wondering if you two had any questions or concerns about Ronin."

"What do you think is wrong with him? Why did he think that it was all a dream?" Mk questioned worriedly, frightened for Ronin's sanity and what would happen to Nod if something was wrong.

The doctor sighed, running his hand through his light blond hair, "He's in denial. Ronin knows about the events from earlier today, but he refuses to believe if any of its real…"

"So do we tell him the truth or not?"

"No!" The teen doctor shouted on accident and then face palmed, trying to keep his cool. "No, we can't show Ronin…"

"Why not?" Nod frowned, looking the doctor in his blue eyes with his brown, "I mean, he deserves to know the truth, after all, it's Ronin we're talking about; he can take it."

Once again, he face palmed, "No Nod…" Sighing, the doctor leaned against the wall and looked at the floor, "He's not emotionally ready for the truth yet. Imagine that you were in his shoes. Imagine if the love of your life passed away in your arms, and there was nothing you could do about it."

Nod looked at the floor, his eyes darting to Mk and back. If Mk had died, he wouldn't know what he would do. He'd be sad-no, that's totally an understatement. He'd be depressed, angered, miserable, gloomy, crestfallen…okay, these were words that were similar to sadness, but it would've described his feelings perfectly. It would be like his parent's death…

Mk looked at Nod from the corner of her green eyes. If Nod would die, Mk would be broken. She was still recovering from her mother's death, heck; she was still trying to get over her parent's divorce! If Nod died…she wouldn't know what she would do. Even the thought of the brown haired teen dying made tears spring to her eyes and she quickly nodded her head, understanding what the doctor was saying.

"Good, now imagine this, it's been a week since the death, you're still in mourning, you don't remember much, but you're being told that your love is still alive though you felt and saw her die in your arms." The doctor sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Being honest here, I'd be a little scarred after that too…"

"Okay," Nod sighed, nodding his head along with Mk, "We won't show him…"

"Don't show Ronin what?" When the three heard the general's voice they quickly turned around to see the silvered haired man leaning and using the wall as a support beam to keep him up, "Don't show me what?"

"General!" The doctor scold, walking up to the man with anger and worry in his eyes, "You shouldn't be up! Your injuries aren't fully healed yet!"

Ronin looked at both Mk and Nod, mainly Nod, and asked, "What's going on?"

"Okay Ronin," Nod smiled nervously and held his hands up in an 'I surrender' pose, "Listen…we're show you, al'right?"

The general's eyes narrowed, "You're lying Nod…"

"No, no no, no I'm not…" Nod pressed on, trying to prove that he was right despite the fact that the doctor was giving him a 'Oh I swear, if you even TRY to show him, YOU'LL be the one needing a doctor' look but the teen just shrugged it off and smiled.

"I'll show you, but you have to promise a few things!"

Ronin raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"You can't tell anyone else, show anyone else, show anyone the room, or the people the person in the room, and the most important part, don't pass out!"

Ronin laughed, patting Nod on the back, "What, you passed out?"

"No…" The teen muttered, looking away and walked towards the door.

"Nod…" The doctor and Mk both warned, the two knew that this wasn't going to end well, but it seemed that Nod was fully determined that this was going to work.

"Okay!" He smiled, opening the door wide for Ronin to look inside, and when the general did, his sapphire eyes dulled as his face paled.

"T-that was a dream…"

"Nice going Nod…" The doctor spoke, knocking him in the head.

"It was a dream…"

"Ronin?'

"I-it wasn't supposed to be reality…" Suddenly, the general fell over to the left and into Nod's arms as the teen caught him.

"See?! I told you that was a bad idea!" The doctor shouted, covering his face with his hands and tried to get his cool back, but it took him several minutes until he had.

"You guys…" Nod looked up, his eyes wide and then he looked back at the unconscious general in his arms, "Ronin seriously passed out!' Nod shouted, slapping the man in the face, "I told you not to pass out!"

Mk sighed, looking at the doctor worriedly after she excused Nod for his behavior, "Will he be okay?"

"Yes, he should be, after a goodnights rest, he should wake up fully rested. Though, the bad part," The teen glared at Nod with his blue eyes, "He STILL might be in denial, thanks to your little attempt to 'help' your father figure…"

Nod looked down, glaring at the floor and sighed, "Yeah yeah…whatever man…"

Mk watched as the doctor called for some nurses, male nurses she would say, to take Ronin back to his room and to keep a close eye on him.

Before Mk knew it, she found herself thanking the teen for everything, maybe because of how he had to deal with Nod being a pain, but she found it kind of cute, so she didn't try hard to stop it.

"Yeah, thanks…" Nod rubbed the back of his neck and then squinted his eyes at the name tag on the doctor's green coat, "…Eric… you know what, you guys should seriously write your names bigger if you want anyone to call you by your name."

Eric chuckled, about to comment on Nod's remark but stopped, looking over the teens head with wide eyes.

"She's awake…"

* * *

Whoa man! So sorry for the super late update! :O XD A little too short, but hey, it's something XD Kinda dragging the lot right now, right? Hehehe! XD That's whats supposed to be going on! XD Anyways...

SHOUT-OUT to my fan-fiction family (you know who you are) and to everyone else! Thank you so much, and i will try to do a better chapter! Thanks for everyone who reviewed, and Favorited/followed :D Thanks, and I'll try to have the next chapter out sooner!

~SupeyZ


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Hiya everyone! :3 I know, the cursed Authors Note…always mistaken for a chapter -_-" I know, these irritate me too…**

**I'm sorry to say…but…this story's on hiatus… Sorry everyone, I just think that Epic kinda died for me. I mean, I was seriously addicted with it before, writing many stories in, like, four days, but now… Yeah, not much inspiration anymore XD**

**Still Worth It…Ironically, it's not completely worth it to continue on XD XD I might later when I get the DVD and get all feelsy again. I'm dying from lack of RoninxTara XD XD**

**Sick, I had just started that, I know, not cool to just leave it at that, but like I said, it just kinda died for me, along with my will to continue on with my Epic stories.**

**Also, another thing as to why I can't continue on with it is just… family stuff is going on right now, and… it's taking up a lot of my time, seriousness! =3 And plus we're moving, packing is a pain! DX I'll stop with the complaining now.**

**Well, until I get around to it, or ever get back into the Epic mood again, this story is on Hiatus. Bye, and I'm so sorry that I have to put it on a halt for awhile, sorry, and bye! :3**

**~SupeyNinjaZora19**


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